Dubrovnik, Croatia, overtourism: How to avoid the crowds and see the hidden highlights

For every thousand people that shuffle along Dubrovnik old town’s main drag, Stradun, dripping gelato onto flagstones worn slippery by a million pairs of shoes, only one walks around the ramparts.

Dubrovnik.iStock

The two-kilometre ramparts ring the medieval city high above show-off blue sea on one side, and red roofs punctuated by the exclamation marks of belfries and church spires on the other.

On the wall’s seaward side, terraces that pop with parasols are cut into the cliffs below. In jam-packed Dubrovnik you might spot hardly anyone but a few Italian retirees with hides tanned as leather, and yachties who’ve rowed themselves over in dinghies.

This hidden watering hole is Buza Bar but the only signage says, “Cold Drinks”. The bad news is you can’t get there from the hot ramparts. The good news is the passageway leading to the bar from below is hard to find.

Buza Bar is hard to find.Alamy Stock Photo

It’s good news because you can sit in Buza and have an Ozujsko beer or, if you must, an Aperol Spritz, and kick back between sea and sky, and scarcely be bothered by anyone.

I’m not saying the bar is never busy. In the late afternoon it becomes a grandstand onto lurid sunsets and is frequented by teetering glamazons. But it’s never that busy. It’s never Dubrovnik-busy.

The busyness of Dubrovnik has reached mythical status but don’t be put off visiting. For a start, it’s more middle-aged than hen-party busy. It attracts a mature crowd who peer into churches and pick at pasta on cafe terraces.

And let’s put things into perspective. Dubrovnik accounted for 0.15 per cent of the Europe Union’s 3.08 billion overnights in 2025, and it doesn’t rank anywhere near the top on various comparative measurements of overtourism.

The ramparts of Dubrovnik are seldom crowded.iStock

I’ve always enjoyed Dubrovnik. Everyone marches up and down the same few streets and congregates around the city gates to await their coach pickups. If you take a jump to the left and a step to the right you’ll appreciate this time-warp city much more.

Case in point, the ramparts. Yes, the €40 ($65) ticket is off-putting, but how much have you spent to get here? It’s the highlight of Dubrovnik and seldom crowded, though you might have to dodge Instagrammers in large floppy hats.

Down in the old town, two monasteries – Dominican and Franciscan, if you want to hedge your bets in the afterlife – are surprisingly tranquil. Both have lovely Gothic cloisters planted with orange trees that offer respite from the heat and hubbub.

Even fewer people stray into the synagogue, which was opened in the late 15th century and is still in use. It’s a great curiosity, oddly shaped on the outside, disconcertingly baroque on the inside.

Most visitors are oblivious to anything other than the old town, but modern suburb Lapad is worth a taxi or bus ride. This peninsular neighbourhood has a lovely coastal walk shaded by umbrella pines that takes an hour return – providing you aren’t tempted by various pretty swimming spots and well-situated cafes.

Lokrum Island is 15 minutes by boat from Dubrovnik. iStock

If you’re in Dubrovnik on a super-hot day and you can’t face sightseeing, you can make a very enjoyable getaway to Lokrum Island, reached in 15 minutes by boat from the old harbour. Alas, it has become busier since being used as a film location for Game of Thrones, but not overwhelmingly so.

Lokrum has nice beaches, at least by Mediterranean standards, so don’t expect extravagance or, for that matter, even much sand. No complaints about the gorgeous blue bays, though.

The shade of pine and oak forest and lush botanical gardens offset the summer heat. You might be startled by the appearance of peacocks, the descendants of Habsburg indulgences.

You may equally be startled by nudists who huddle on one of the island’s corners like sun-wrinkled aliens. Good to know Dubrovnik isn’t as predictable as its reputation might suggest.

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THE DETAILS

FLY
Turkish Airlines operates code-share flights with Qantas from Melbourne and Sydney via Istanbul to Dubrovnik. See turkishairlines.com

CRUISE
Azamara offers regular Croatia Intensive itineraries that sail the Adriatic between Venice and Athens (or the reverse). An eight-day cruise departing Athens on May 8, 2027, is priced from $4195 a person, twin share. See azamara.com